Slept-On But Dope Hip Hop Songs From The Week Of 3/4/2013

L'Orange & Blu get French New Wave, as Illuminate chops up 100 bars and Pill takes things back to the days of 808's and Alpine speakers.

Illuminate - "100 Bars Of Holy Water"

I love when this happens. So last week, I helped on the @HipHopDX Twitter account and posed the question to our followers of what video I should post next on the site. This artist @IlluminateYeahh tweeted me with a link to a track. It wasn't a video, but I digress. If this isn't proof that we at DX listen to our submissions, then I don't know what is. Illuminate sent me this cut "100 Bars Of Holy Water." It dropped last month - a perfect candidate for a "Slept-On" track, especially since I had never heard of it or him before. Illuminate's bars pair well with the haunting sample, as he speeds up his flow, slows it down, lifts it back up and drops it back down. The Tennessee by way of Chicago emcee has a little bit of Kendrick Lamar going on, some Yelawolf, and the obvious influence of Tech N9ne. This track is totally worth checking out, and Illuminate is definitely an artist worth follow...on and off Twitter. - Kathy Iandoli (@kath3000)

L'Orange featuring Blu - "Alone"

North Carolina's L'Orange has gone under my radar for some time. His The Mad Writer project includes this single from Blu, that is brought to life by this French New Wave-inspired video. "Alone" is the kind of Blu appearance that made the L.A. native one of the most important new artists of the '00s. In his abundance of projects, sometimes—especially lately, we fail to hear the greatness. However on the subject of relationships and unrequited love, Johnson Barnes is a master. This cross-country collaboration works beautifully, and the video succeeds in driving the point home. - Jake Paine (@Citizen__Paine)

Pill - "Everybody's Lookin"

Sir Mix-A-Lot's "Posse On Broadway" has been shown covert love in everything from E-40 beats to single throwaway lines by a rapping Natalie Portman. However, this week the 1988 track has been kept repsectfully intact for Pill's "Everybody's Lookin," the first leak off producer Peso Piddy's upcoming album. Since this is a throwback to the days when 808's came bumping and rattling out of Alpine speakers, what's needed is an emcee who is versatile enough to pull back and ride over a simplified beat while having some fun and keeping things light. Pill is perfect for this as he embraces the old school flavor with Swass-era lines like "I'm going H.A.M in this motherfucker, peanut butter i'm a jam in this motherfucker." Still he keeps the signature Southern flow that made him the secret weapon on tracks like "By Any Means." Losing the asscociation with Pill was a possible "jump the shark moment" for MMG. Yet for those of us who own both Licensed To Ill and Trap Muzik, "Everybody's Lookin" makes for a perfect track and another win for the Atlanta emcee. -Michael Sheehan

PERFECT BARS

Anonymous

Anonymous

"sometimesespecially lately, we fail to hear the greatness."--> the write up would've been pretty good if you took out this little tid-bit. Blu most recently has been releasing incredibly dope shit. Clean those ears!